Chicken Empanadas

On my trip to Texas last month, we went to my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, On The Border. I ordered a dish that I thought was good but had a lot more potential.....empanadas. The description for this dish is "flaky handmade pastries stuffed with cheese and seasoned with ground beef or chicken." I can do that, and better!

My dear friend, Traci, gave me a fun party food cookbook for my birthday.....she knows exactly what I loved receiving! It has great recipes for dips, appetizers, bar food, etc. and a recipe for chicken empanadas. It was very easy to put together and taste amazing! I made them for Joe because he was dedicating his evening to college football watching, and this is a perfect finger food to eat.

CHICKEN EMPANADAS

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced onions
• 1 package (6 ounce) fajita chicken strips
• 1/2 cup jalapeno cream cheese (my grocery didn't carry this so I combined jalapenos and garden veggie cream cheese)
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 package pre-made pie crust (two crusts)
• 1 egg yolk, mixed with 2 teaspoons water

In a small skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook until tender. Spoon onion into a medium bowl; stir in chicken, cream cheese, and cilantro. Set aside.

Roll out pie crusts and cut out rounds with a 3-inch biscuit cutter. Place a level teaspoon of filling on one side of each pastry round. Brush edges of pastry rounds with egg mixture and fold over filling. Press edges with the tines of a fork to seal. Arrange pastries 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the top with egg mixture.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Bake until golden, about 18 minutes. Serve warm.